“Have you slept at all?”
He shook his head. “Do you want to stay here? I’d hate for you to drive home if you’re so tired.”
Nic pulled me into his arms. Grabbing a handful of hair, he pressed his lips against mine. It didn’t take me long to open up to him as our tongues danced together in a beautiful rhythm.
“I need to be buried balls deep inside of you, agapiméni. Now.”
My lower stomach pooled with heat. Smiling, I whispered, “Yes.”
Before I knew what was happening, I was in my bedroom and Nic was pulling my shirt over my head. Reaching behind my back, he undid my bra and pulled it off, tossing it to the floor. He cupped my breasts and squeezed them as he dropped his mouth onto one nipple. The sound of him sucking had my head spinning with ecstasy.
Tingles erupted across my body . . . the build-up already starting. Sliding my hands into his hair, I tugged on it, pulling a long moan from his mouth that vibrated onto my nipple. I gasped.
“More,” I panted out.
Nic had my pants off and was pushing my lace panties out of the way as he slipped two fingers inside of me.
“So fucking wet. I want your pussy on my cock, Gabi. I want to feel you fall apart on me.”
Oh. God. I was so close to an orgasm just by hearing him talk that way.
“Nic,” I gasped as he continued to move his fingers in and out of me. When his thumb pressed against my clit, I nearly exploded.
Then he was gone. My breathing was erratic as I opened my eyes and saw him standing there staring at me with pure desire in his eyes. He slowly let his gaze fall, causing me to lick my lips.
“I want to fuck your mouth.”
My eyes grew wide. I liked this dirty side of Nic. Even though it made me feel a little dirty myself, it also turned me on like never before.
Dropping to my knees, I took him into my mouth. I had no clue what I was doing, but I tried to remember to do what Charity told me. My hand cupped his balls as he grabbed my head and slowly pulled out of my mouth then pushed back in. He hissed when I lightly grazed my teeth down his shaft.
I sucked harder while grabbing onto his ass.
“Yeah, baby, that feels so damn good.”
Glancing up at him, I moaned, causing him to jerk and pick up the speed. I loved knowing I could make him feel good. But this . . . this was a little too much for me as he went further down my throat. All I wanted to do was gag and that was quickly ruining the mood. Pulling away from him, I shook my head. Nic reached down and lifted me up. Cupping my face, his eyes looked deep into mine.
“I’m so sorry. I got carried away. I didn’t mean to make you do something you didn’t want to do.”
“I love doing that to you, but it was a little too much.”
He kissed me and I wrapped my arms round his neck. When he pulled back from the kiss, he bit my lip. “Gabi, I want to fuck you. I can’t do slow and sweet. I need you.”
Was he so desperate because he was tired or was it because we had both left each other horny as hell last night? Whatever the reason . . . I liked it. I liked this side of Nic and I decided I wanted more of it.
Staring into his eyes, I licked my lips and said, “Fuck me, Nic, I’m yours.”
I WAS BEING rough with Gabi and I knew I needed to settle down. But fuck, the moment I saw her in that hall, my dick instantly went hard. All I could think about was sinking inside her warm pussy and forgetting everything.
She was on her hands and knees as I ran my hand over that sweet ass of hers. I pumped in and out of her like my life depended on it.
My finger pressed on her ass and she jumped.
“Someday I’m going to take this sweet ass.”
She glanced over her shoulder, teeth digging into her lip. Damn it all to hell I was close to coming. She liked it when I talked dirty to her. She was turned on even more and I loved it.
Reaching around her, I found that little nub that was begging for attention.
“Oh God. Nic!” she cried out. “I can’t. I can’t! No more.”
She’d already come twice. Hard. This time I wanted to come with her. Together.
My hand dug into her hip. Our bodies slapping together making the sexiest fucking sounds I’d ever heard.
“I’m getting close, Gabi. I want you to come when I come.”
“Wh . . . wh . . . what!” she panted out.
My balls started to pull up. “I’m so fucking close. Squeeze that pussy on me, baby.”
Not five seconds later, Gabi was crying out my name as I pushed in as deep as I could and came. My release felt like heaven as I poured my hot cum into her.
When my dick was finally done, I moved in and out of her a few more times before pulling out. I got up and headed to the bathroom where I got a warm washcloth for Gabi.
I made my way back into the bedroom and came to a stop. She was lying on the bed with her blonde hair laid out across the pillow. Her eyes were closed and she wore a breathtaking smile.
Oh yeah, she was thoroughly fucked and she was basking in it.
Kneeling on the bed, I pushed her thighs open and gently washed her. She grabbed at the sheets and let out a few whimpers as I slipped two fingers inside her.
“Do you need more, prinkipissa?”
She laughed. “No. I’m very, very, satisfied right now. I dropped the washcloth to the floor and crawled next to her, pulling her body so we faced each other.
I kissed the tip of her nose and whispered, “That was amazing.”
“Mmm,” was her only response.
“How do you feel?” I asked her. Worried I had been too rough.
“A little sore, but in a delicious way.”
Her eyes were still closed.
“Gabi, look at me.”
Snapping her eyes opened, her blue eyes bright as all get out. My heart seized in my chest. I loved this woman. There was no doubt in my mind I loved her and I would do whatever it took to protect her. The need to tell her overwhelmed me. Life was too short. I wasn’t going to waste another second.
“I love you.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she sucked in her lower lip before releasing it and answering me. “I love you too.”
“Someone died last night.”
Gabi gasped and sat up. I wasn’t sure why I blurted it out, I just did. I also knew that was probably why Cole was looking for Charity. We both needed to forget. I used Gabi and a part of me felt guilty about it. No. All of me felt guilty.
“Oh, my gosh. Who?”
“Phil.”
Tears formed in her eyes while she covered her mouth. “Wh-what happened?”
I rolled over on my back. “It was a freak accident and had nothing to do with the fucking raid. Nothing. I had to be the one to tell his wife, and it about broke me.”
“Nic, I’m so sorry.”
She didn’t ask what happened, and I was thanking God. My eyes grew heavy, but I couldn’t stop my brain from working. Gabi reached over and began slowly stroking my dick and then running her hands over my balls. It was relaxing as fuck.
Pressing her lips against my chest, she whispered, “Sleep, Nic. Sleep.”
Gabi had a pep in her step as she entered the building. Liza was walking next to her and they were both going on and on about the cooking competition.
It had been almost a month since we said we loved each other and I still hadn’t said a goddamn thing about what my search on her pulled up . . . or lack thereof. I’d talked to both Cole and Oliver about it. Both told me the same thing—talk to her about it.
My hand rubbed the back of my neck as I watched her walking. How did I ask her? Oh, by the way, I looked up your name and can find no traces of a Gabriella Mandola. I sighed and pushed it out of my head. The fear of finding out something I didn’t want to find out was winning right now.
A young lady held out a sign that said welcome as she pointed to a side door. “Registration is this way please.”
Gabi glanced over her shoulder a
t me and gave me that big beautiful smile of hers. Damn she was gorgeous. I still hadn’t brought her home to the family yet. A part of me was scared shitless they would scare her away. I’d avoided my mother’s calls for the last three weeks. To be honest, I was stunned she hadn’t shown up at my place. I think a part of her was still pissed I’d hidden my relationship with Gabi.
We walked into a giant room that had about fifty cooking stations set up. Gabi was so excited she did a little hop. “I’ve always wanted to enter a cooking competition!”
I grinned as I leaned down and kissed her lips. “You’re gonna kick ass.”
She chewed on her lip. “I hope! It’s three courses. Appetizer, main dish, and dessert.”
Liza started pulling everything out of the cooler and placing it in the small refrigerator.
“What’s on the menu?” I asked.
Gabi had three different menus planned and wasn’t going to pick one until she got here. Before she had a chance to answer, I heard a familiar voice. All three of us froze.
“Gabriella! Nicholaus! So this is what I have to do to see you two.”
With wide eyes of terror, Gabi whispered, “Please tell me that’s not your mom.”
My eyes swung over to look at my mother standing there with my aunt Maria and Aunt Agnes.
“Shit,” I whispered.
“Oh God. This is not happening. This is it!” Gabi exclaimed as she covered her mouth.
I placed my hands on her shoulders and leaned in closer. In a whispered voice, I asked, “What is wrong?”
Her eyes met mine. “This is her challenge! I thought it was that day in the bakery. That was a merely a test! She’s here to take me down!”
I laughed. “My mother is not here to take you down.”
She slowly shook her head and asked, “How did she know?”
Then we both turned to look at Liza. She took a step away. “You didn’t.”
Liza’s eyes were everywhere. Me, my mother, back to Gabi, back to my mother. “I might have mentioned it that day in the bakery when she was there. But she saw the registration form and asked if you had entered! I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to say.”
“Nicholaus, don’t be rude. Introduce your Gabriella to your Aunt Maria and Aunt Agnes.”
Gabi took in a slow deep breath before turning and facing my mother and aunts.
With my hand on her back, we walked closer. “Mama, this is a surprise to see you here.”
She looked taken aback. “Why? I love to cook, this is a cooking competition. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“Because you’ve never entered one before.”
The three of them laughed. “Please. Your mama has won more cooking competitions than anyone in this room.”
Gabi swayed, and I tightened my grip on her.
When my mother turned to look at Gabi, she wore a wide smile. “My Nicholaus cares for you, so that makes you a part of the family.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Drivas.”
“No! Katerina. That is what you will call me.”
With a quick nod, Gabi replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
Clapping her hands loudly, Gabi jumped. “So, with you being a part of our family, I want to make sure you come in second so I’ve brought you some help.”
Oh for shits sake.
“Help?” Gabi asked with a strained voice.
And before our eyes appeared my cousins Sophia and Angie, and just when I didn’t think it could get worse, cousin Maria walked up carrying a giant bag with some rat looking dog in it.
“Um, I don’t think you can have a dog in here,” Liza said.
Everyone turned and looked at cousin Maria. “Are you shitting me? I don’t go anywhere without my Nikky.”
Gabi looked at me and asked, “Is the dog named after you?”
Everyone laughed as my mother walked up and hugged Gabi. “I do like a woman with a sense of humor. Now, the family wants to meet you.”
I pulled out my phone and sent Thano a text.
Me: Code fucking red!
Not ten seconds later, he responded.
Thano: Oh hell. What’s happening?
Me: Mom crashed Gabi’s cooking competition.
Thano: Seeking Kilyn’s advice. Hold please.
“Gabriella, this is Aunt Maria and Aunt Agnes.”
Gabi reached her hand out to theirs.
“Then you have Nic’s cousins, Sophia, Angie, and Maria.”
Gabi smiled. “Are you mother and daughter?” she asked looking between Aunt Maria and cousin Maria. They both laughed.
“No, why?” cousin Maria asked.
“Ahh! You made it!” my mother called out as her best friend came walking up. I couldn’t help but groan.
Me: Half the fucking family is showing up. They are Maria’ing her to death!
Thano: Kilyn said she’ll be praying for Gabi. That’s all she’s got.
I rolled my eyes. “Bastard.”
“Gabriella, this is my very dear friend, Maria.”
I didn’t think Gabi could look any more confused. “Oh, um, another Maria! That’s a lot of Maria’s under one roof.” They all stared at her like they didn’t get it.
They fucking got it.
“All right, well now that the gang is here, Mama you should be heading on over to your station.”
“You’re not coming over there with me?”
Gabi’s head jerked to the side to look at me. Oh shit. What the hell do I do? I can’t ask Thano . . . they’re both staring at me.
I did the only thing I knew to do. I looked for guidance from Liza. My eyes were wide as she motioned to Gabi.
Right. Right. I needed to stay with Gabi.
“Well, Mama, I was planning on helping Gabi and being here for moral support with this being her first competition and all.” Gabi glared at me.
Shit, what did I do now?
Then my mother turned back to Gabi. “First, huh?” My heart dropped in my chest. That’s why Gabi shot me a dirty look. “Well, I better let you get going then. Good luck.”
With a full-on smile, Gabi nodded. “Thanks! You too. And may the best cook win.”
Tossing her head back and laughing before looking back at Gabi, my mother said, “Oh, I will.”
I COULDN’T BELIEVE it. Katerina was here. In the competition. I was screwed. Then she made the comment about me coming in second. Then about her winning.
Oh. Hell. No.
Watching her walking away with her group of Maria’s, I spun around. Pointing to Liza, I said, “Menu. Change.”
“What? You can’t do a menu change. Are you crazy?”
I paced back and forth as I rubbed my temples and tried to think of one of my grandmother’s best recipes.
“Uncle Dimitris says Italian food is just Greek food, but with no flavor.”
My eyes swung over to the dark haired beauty in front of me. Without taking my eyes off of her, I said, “Nic.”
“I’m on it,” he said as he walked toward his cousins and ushered them away.
Turning back to Liza, I said, “We have got to win. I want to take that woman down!”
She nodded then said, “You do know that’s your boyfriend’s mom? Like, this may end bad.”
“Bullshit! She’s challenging me, Liza. Don’t you see that? She wants to test me. See if I’m strong enough. Well, I’m strong enough!”
Nic walked back over rubbing the back of his neck. He always did that when he was worried or nervous about something. It was a habit of his I picked up on early on.
He grinned. “I took care of my cousins.”
I nodded.
“Okay. I’ve got the menu and I know we have everything.” Liza smiled as she took out a pen and paper to write it down. “We’re going to start with Spinach pesto bruschetta.”
“Yum,” Nic said with a huge smile.
“Then steamed mussels in that Italian beer we brought for Nic to drink.”
“Hey!” Nic said with a sexy smile.
&nbs
p; “Two appetizers?” Liza asked with a slight shake in her voice.
“Then, hazelnut chicken. It’s a one-pot dish and will be easy to deal with.”
Liza nodded. “Okay dessert?”
“Not yet, Liza. It’s time to go big or go home. The other main course will be lemon and herb branzino.”
“You’re gonna make a fish also? Are you crazy?”
I smiled bigger. “Then for dessert, we’ll have the one Italian dessert everyone loves, cannoli’s.”
Liza breathed a sigh of relief. They were simple as hell to make and I could whip them out like nothing.
“And . . . the olive oil sobertto with raspberry and balsamic. Gotta love Giada for that recipe.”
Liza shook her head. “What!”
“The sorbetto is already made. So that is an easy one as well.”
Peeking over to Nic, he wore a grin from ear to ear. “Don’t you dare tell your mother I’m going double.”
He pretended to lock his mouth and toss the key. “Not a word.”
“Okay, now that we have a menu, let’s write it up for the judges and finish getting set up. It will start soon.”
As Liza and I moved about getting everything set up and ready to go, I felt confident I was going to at least beat Katerina. If I could place better than her, then it would earn me the respect I needed from Nic’s family.
Nic walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His breath tickled my ear and my heart froze as I waited to hear what he was about to whisper in my ear.
“You’re so fucking sexy right now.”
“Yeah?” I asked with a smile as I attempted to plug in the mixer with Nic all over me.
“Yeah. You have no idea how hard I am for you right now.”
I pushed my ass slightly into him. My stomach clenched as I felt his desire.
“Fucking hell, Gabi.”
Turning in his arms, I glanced over to see Liza pulling out all the sugar and flour. I looked into his dark eyes and softly asked, “Tell me what you would do to me if we were alone.”
Nic swallowed hard then leaned in closer. “I’d slip my hands up that dress of yours and slowly pull your panties off. Then set you up on this counter and slowly lick your pussy.”
Holy crap’ole. I wasn’t expecting him to be so dirty.